When Innocence is Lost
by oh-you-pretty-things
Summary: This is all Jareth. What if he was never in love with Sarah herself, but rather her innocence? There is no JS romance in this, in fact I'm downright mean to Sarah and humans in general. ONESHOT. I think I'm out of oneshots...for now...


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Labyrinth or any of the characters associated with the film. They are the property of the Jim Henson Company. I also didn't write "Oh! You Pretty Things" which is clearly a product of the genius mind of David Bowie. It can be found on the album "Hunky Dory" released by Virgin Records in 1971. Just borrowing a few lines to make my story extra story-licious. Plus, this is my pen name after all, what kind of an author would I be if I didn't use it for something. ;)

_Oh you pretty things!_

Babies and children. They were so beautiful in their innocence. Jareth loved mortal children. They were untainted by the curse of "growing up". They had no knowledge of the ugliness of the human soul. They had instinct and imagination. Children were pretty things indeed, and Jareth did not despise his position, in fact he revelled in it.

_Don't you know you're driving your Mamas and Papas insane?_

Somehow there was always some ungrateful parent that wished for nothing more than to be rid of their beautiful, innocent child. Humans were so selfish. To conceive of a child, accepting the lust and greed that goes with the deed, but neglecting to recognize the consequences until it was too late. And, in their ugly hearts somehow found it possible to develop a hatred for the innocents that they themselves brought into the world. It was better for the children in the end.

_Let me make it plain. You gotta make way for the Homo superior._

Then there had been Sarah. A child who wished away another child. And such beautiful children they both were. He had been fascinated by her. She was still too young to have given in to the temptations that so many adults were, but she was just old enough to accept the threat that he was to her. And when she'd told him that she appreciated what he was trying to do for her, she'd meant it. She did appreciate it. She appreciated his world. She was a dreamer, on the brink of becoming an adult, but still so innocent. She'd called him by accident. She'd believed in him unconsciously, with all her being.

_Look at your children, see their faces in golden rays._

In the end he'd wanted to keep her. He'd offered her everything; he would have kept her perfectly intact as she was at that moment. He would've sent the baby back Aboveground, and kept her instead. But, that terrible dawning moment came. The moment when the child subsided and the adult emerged, when her dreams exploded into disbelief. And she'd left him.

_Don't kid yourself they belong to you; they're the start of a coming race._

It was the same to the Goblin King. Life returned to normal for him. He was surrounded by the human children he adored so much, all safely preserved in the immortal form of a goblin. A goblin's mind was that of a human child: all innocence and mischief. He never chided them. He never told them to "grow up". It was a happy existence. They were wanted in a way that they had not been Aboveground. Jareth had also prided himself on the prevention of the formation of adults who would have been so warped by their uncaring, selfish parents.__

The earth is a bitch. 

Sarah. Again. Here he was, standing in her window so many years later. She'd called him, and she'd believed as she had in the past. But, this time was no accident. She was desperate and selfish; he could smell it on her. The innocence that he had once found so appealing in her was gone, and replaced with greed and lust. She wanted him to take the child, her child. Take it far away. Turn it into a goblin, make her forget. Her thoughts were desperately connecting with him. He was so disappointed to find her like this and searched through her to find out if something terrible had happened to her, if she'd been forced to conceive and the child was a constant reminder of that fearful experience.

_We've finished our news._

It was not the case. She'd accepted the call of passion, and did not like the consequences. Such a pity. What a waste. Her eyes searched his, which of course, gave away nothing. She wanted to know if he loved her still, if he ever had. She wanted him and wanted to know if he reciprocated. He smelled the sickly scent of lust on her. He tilted his head, disappointment evident. Yet, he could not completely discount the affection he had once felt for her. In any other case he would have laid out the rules: run the labyrinth and attempt to save the child, prove yourself; or, go back to sleep and forget about the baby. The crystal he had once offered her was not a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby, nor was it for a selfish adult who wanted nothing more than to flit about life in a fury of desire. He had never offered it to anyone else before or after her.

_Homo sapiens have outgrown their use._

He said nothing and offered her the crystal once more. She looked past him and stared at the castle, beyond the goblin city. She bit her lip, lost in thought. Jareth observed the dingy room she lived in now. So destitute, so filthy, so…human. He hoped against hope that she would choose to run the labyrinth. The fondness he had once felt for her had dimmed considerably since he'd realized that she'd allowed herself to be tainted by adulthood, but she could still restore his hope in…_humanity_…if she would just reject his gift once more. If she would prove to him that she still appreciated what he was doing for her. She stared into his face once more, as her hand gripped the crystal that was lightly resting on his fingertips.

_All the strangers came today._

His eyes closed in disappointment. Give her her dreams. She'd decided for him: he would never visit her again. She had broken any dream of hope that he had ever had regarding her race. In the Underground, he glanced at the crystal which showed him her dreams, one last time. He smiled sadly when he saw a familiar ballroom. Almost. She was almost what she once was, except for that fundamental difference. He had never looked at her as her imaginary version of him was doing at this particular moment. Such ridiculous lustful thoughts had never graced his mind. Such a pity. With a wave of his hand, her dreams disappeared from his view. He preferred the memory of a beautiful child, defiant and believing, to the image of a greedy, sexual woman who'd given up a baby.

_And it looks as though they're here to stay._

AN: I wasn't very nice to Sarah in this fic, or humans in general. I'm in a bad mood, and not overly fond of humans at the moment. This story was to represent the concept that Jareth was never in love with Sarah, but rather with her innocence. I guess it's a little dark, but hey people…BAD MOOD.


End file.
